Device in prepayment coin boxes for generating coin-released electrical impulses



o. MOSER 2,646,866 DEVICE IN PREPAYMENT COIN BOXES FOR GENERATING I July 28, 1953 COIN-RELEASED ELECTRICAL IMPULSES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 3, 1950 a Q r @SQ Q Ea \QQ INVENTOR 0H0 Moser.

BY 5. ATTORNEY July 28, 1953 o. MOSER 2,646,866

DEVICE IN PREPAYMENT COIN BOXES FOR GENERATING COIN-RELEASED ELECTRICAL IMPULSES Filed May 3, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A b\ l I INVENTOR Q Otto Moser.

BY C. A

ATTORNEY Patented July 28, 1953 DEVICE IN PREPAYMENT COIN BOXES FOR GENERATING COIN-RELEASED ELECTRI- CAL IMPULSES Otto Moser, Bern, Switzerland, assignor to Autelca A. G., Guemligen, a Swiss company Application May 3, 1950, Serial No. 159,706 In Switzerland May 6, 1949 3 Claims.

The present invention relates to prepayment coin-box apparatus for generating coin-released electrical impulses and is particularly suitable for telephone pay stations.

In existing prepayment coin boxes, designed for receiving coins of different denominations and-comprising devices for generating coin-released impulses, a separate coin chute is provided for every coin denomination and each chute has an element for detecting the presence of a coin and causing the transmission of a train of impulses corresponding to the value of the inserted 00111.

It is an object of my invention to improve such coin-controlled pulse transmitting apparatus by reducing the large number of control elements needed in apparatus of the above-mentioned, conventional design.

To this end, and in accordance with one of the features of my invention, I equip a coin-box apparatus with only one coin chute for all types of coins to be inserted and providethis chute with a single coin feeler element which is actuated by an inserted coin and in turn actuates a pulse generator, the extent of the coin feeler movement determining the number of pulses to be transmitted by the generator.

.These and more specific objects and features of. my invention will be apparent from the following description of the embodiment illustrated on the drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a prepayment coin box apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a plan view and Fig. 3 a front view of the same apparatus;

Fig. 4 shows a cam device pertaining to the same apparatus; and b Fig. 5 is an example of a wiring diagram of a telephone pay station equipped with such an apparatus.

Similar parts in Figs. 1 to 4 are denoted by the same respective reference characters. The reference characters added in parenthesis in Figs. 1 to 3 refer to the correspondingly denoted elements in Fig. 5; and the parenthetical reference characters added in Fig. 5 refer to the correspondingly denoted elements in Figs. 1 to 3.

The coin-box apparatus according to Figs. 1 to 4 is designed for the reception of coins of four different denominations, for which the following Swiss coin values have been chosen: l0 centimes, 20 centimes, 50 centimes and 1 franc.

The impulse unit is centimes. The number of impulses to beissued for the other respective coins is always an integral multiple of the unit;

that is, ten pulses are to be issued after the insertion of a one-franc piece.

The apparatus has a single coin chute 1 composed of two plates 2 and 3 spaced by intermediate pieces 4 and 5. A coin 6 (20 centimes) is shown as about to enter the coin chute, having been passed by the coin tester. Shown at 5a, in broken lines, are four coins of the respectively difierent denominations to indicate the respective positions that these coins will reach at the bottom of the coin chute, only one coin, of course, being in that position at a time. In this positiomthe coin tilts the feeler arm la of a pulse control lever '7 an extent determined by the coin size. This tilting movement causesa lug 3 of lever 1 to shift along a milled slot ll extending in the direction of a cam shaft l9 carrying four cams 9a-9d (Figs. 3, 4). The extent of this shifting movement is determined by the proportion of the arms 1a and lb of lever I. Since the coin inserted is a ZO-centime piece, the lug 8 is displaced to the cam 9b. With the movement of control lever 1 about its pivot 31, a mercury switch 13 attached thereto is lowered and closes an energizing circuit for a motor I4.

The replacement of the spring contacts hitherto used for this purpose in prepayment coin boxes by a see-saw mounted mercury switch constitutes a particular advantage since the forces exerted upon a pulse-control lever or similar coin feeler element by the weight of the coin are naturally of a very small order. In order to avoid interference with the movement of the pulse control lever l by the rigidity of the electric leads, the current is applied to the mercury switch 13 through contacts I5, l6 Whose contact points are arranged on the pivot axis of the lever 1.

The motor I 4, when thus energized, drives a pulse wheel l9 and the cams -9d through a worm I! and a gear l8. By means of the pulse wheel l9 and the contact 20, ten impulses are generated for one full turn of shaft I0. For the following reason, only two of the ten pulses are effective: Just after the shaft 19 has begun its rotary movement, the cam 9b, acting upon lug 8, displaces the lever arm lb in a direction parallelto the axis of its pivot 3|. As a result, the lever arm lb opens a short-circuit contact 22'with which the arm lb is connected by a link 33 (Fig. 3). The contact 22 is electrically parallel connected with the pulse contact 20. After the issuance of two impulses, contact 22, under control by the revolving cam 9b, again closes, so that the remaining eight pulse movements of contact 26 remain ineffective. While thus only two pulses are transmitted in response to the insertion of a ZO-centime piece, it will be understood that the four cams 9a to 9d are differently shaped so that, for instance, only one pulse is issued for a lo-centime piece and all ten pulses for a onefranc piece.

When the telephone receiver is lifted from its rest, i. e. before the coins are inserted, the electromagnet 23 (Figs. 1, 2) is energized. Apart from actuating four contacts 24m to 2411, this.

magnet moves a coin switch member 2| clockwise about its pivot 30 (Fig. 2). A slide 26 connected with the coin switch. member 2|: is thus moved to close the lower end of the coin chute I, so that the coin inserted is held in the operative range of the impulse lever. The electromagnet 23 is deenergized at a moment prior to the pulse generation. The coin then drops from position 6a through position 60 (Fig. 1) into a cash box (not shown).

Two slides 21, 28 and. a stop or stud 29 are connected with the coin switch member 2|. The slide 21 serves to close the upper part-of the coin chute when the electromagnet 23 is deenergized, while the slide 28 then opens one of the narrow sides of the coin chute. Consequently, any coins inserted into the apparatus while pulses are being transmitted will drop out, as shown at 61), into the return chute. The user may again insert this coin after termination of the pulse transmission period. It is, of course, also possible to close the coin slot r slots by the electromagnet- 23 when the electromagnet is energized, so'that no coins can be inserted during this period.

If a user inserts two coins in quick succession, it may happen that both coins enter the coin chute before the electromagnet 23 is again deenergized. The stud 29 then prevents the second coin from falling into the cash box. without having caused a pulse transmission. When the first coin is being released, the. stud 29 retains the second, upper coin until the magnet 23 is again energized.

The performance and advantages of the coincontrolled pulse transmitting apparatus described in the foregoing will be more fully understood from. the example of. an application for a telephone pay station given in the. following in conjunction with the circuit. diagram of Fig. 5.

Before describing other details of the circuit diagram a few explanatory remarks appear proper. As apparent from the foregoing, the motor l4 for actuating the pulse issuing device of the above-described apparatus may consist of any suitable start-stop drive which in response to a signal causes the pulse wheel I9 and the control cams 9a through 9d to perform one full revolution. For telephonev purposes, however, I prefer using a start-stop motor of the steppingswitch type known, for instance, from the. article by M. Langer in the German periodical Elektrotechnik, vol. 2, No. 1,. January 1948, page 25. Such a motor has two stator coils MI and M2 (Fig. perpendicular to each other which act upon a rotor with salient poles. The stator coils are energized and deenergized under control by two interruptor contacts ml and m2 which are actuated by the operation of the motor. Additional contacts 123 and mid are provided for rapidly arresting the rotor. When contacts '03 and mk2 are closed, the two stator coils MI and M2 are simultaneously energized to lock the rotor. The contact'v3 pertains to a locking magnet V which is identical with the. magnet denoted by 23 in Figs. 1 and 2. The contacts mkl, mic! and mi are controlled by respective cams driven by the stop motor. The contacts mic! and m7c2 are closed when the drive motor is at rest and are open during the revolution of the pulse issuing device. The pulse contact mi (Fig. 5) corresponds to the pulse contact 20 shown in Fig. l and, as explained, is opened ten times during one complete revolution of the pulse contact wheel driven by the start-stop motor.

In other respects, the telephone substation according to Fig. 5 is largely similar to conventional designs, having a telephone receiver B, a microphone D, a bell E, a transformer U, hook switch contacts I-Il, H2, H3, a dial switch (not shown) with a pulse contact 2' and an off-zero contact 70, and several other components to be referred to in a later place.

The substation is connected with the exchange by two wires a and b. The exchange equipment, located at the right hand side of the vertical dot-and-dash line entered in Fig. 5, may have any conventional design and for the purposes of the invention is equipped with a group of relays located ahead of the pre-selector or line finder stage (not illustrated). This relay group comprises three relays C, A, and X. Relay C has a contact cl and is energized when a suitable cash relay set is selected automatically or by the operator. The contact cl for any selected relay set is' then closed. The relay A serves to receive the dial pulses. It has two coils denoted by I and II respectively and responds to loop current flowing through wires a and b. The contact means of relay A, which may be designed and operative in any conventional manner, are not illustrated. The relay X serves for responding to the pulses received from the coin-controlled pulse transmitting apparatus. Relay X is of the diiierential type and has two coils I, II so connected that the relay may respond either through only one of its coils (II) when pulses are received passing from wire a to ground, or it may respond with both coils I and II when the coils are energized in the cumulative sense. Relay X, however, does not respond to loop current because the fluxes of its two. coils I and II then cancel each other.

For establishing a connection, the telephone receiver B at the pay station is first lifted so that the contacts HI to H3 are actuated. Ground potential is then applied to the b wire through the contacts sl, I-Il, vl and the rectifier GI. As a result, the line finder stage (not shown) is actuated in the exchange. A cash relay group, such as the group C, A, X shown in Fig. 5 is then switched in. The minus potential of the current source. in the exchange, here schematically shown by the symbol of a battery is then connected with wire a through coil II of relay A and coil II of l y his establishes the following circuit: ground, battery, coil II of relay A, coil II of relay X, contact cl, wire a, rectifier G3, contacts mi and mik, transformer U, coils I and II of magnet V, contacts 1', H2 and mlcl, rectifier (32, contact cl, rectifier GI, contacts Hi and $1, ground. The magnet V (i. e. magnet 23 of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2) becomes energized in the just mentioned circuit. Th pickup delay of the differential relay X in the exchange is such that the contact all in the exchange remains for some time in the illustrated position. Magnet V (23 in Figs. 1 and 2) new opens the coin chute by withdrawing the. slide member 21, (Fig. l) and actuates the. contacts vi through 124. (Fig. 5, corresponding to contacts 24a through 24d in Fig. 2). The contact vi, now open, is latchedin this position by the hook switch until the hook switch, at the termination of the telephon connection, is returned to its rest position. Hence, during the further operation, the contact 11! is open regardless whether or not the magnet V (23) performs additional switching movements. Consequently, now the circuitextends through wire b, coil I of relay X, contact 33!, coil I of the now responding relay A and ground, instead of through contact vi, rectifier Gi, contacts HI and sl, ground. A coin inserted into the coin chute of the pulse transmitting apparatus now causes th mercury switch Q (corresponding to switch I3 in Figs. 1, 2) to close. This completes the'following circuit: ground switch Q, contacts H2 and i, magnet V, transformer U, contacts mi and mile, rectifier G3, wire a, contact cl, coil II of relay X, coil II of relay A, battery, ground. The differential relay X is asymmetrically energized in this circuit and therefore closes its contact xl. Thereafter the magnetic fluxes of coils I and II in relay X act cumulatively thus retaining the contact :0! in the actuated position. Relay A remains energized by means of its winding II.

The above mentioned stator coil Ml of the start-stop motor now receives energizing current in the circuit: ground, switch Q, contacts'mkl and ml, stator coil Ml, wire I), coil I of relay X, contact ml, resistor W, battery, ground. The motor now performs a stepwise operation by alternately actuating its interruptor contacts ml and m2 which alternately reduce and increase the current in the two stator coils.

The rectifier G2 prevents an excitation of the motor by currents of the opposite direction. As explained above, the coin controlled pulses are now produced by means of the contact mi (20), and the number of pulses corresponding to the denomination of the inserted coin is made effective by the opening of the parallel contact mile (22). The opening of contact mlcl causes energization of the relay S, whereby the coin-controlled pulses are caused to energize th differential relay X in the exchange in the following circuit: ground, contact s! (or Q) and s2, pulse contact mi, valve G3, wire a, contact cl, coil II of relay X, coil 11 of relay A, battery, ground. The excitation of relay X has the further consequence that the magnet V is shorted by the contact 32 so that the coin switch member 2| (Figs. 1, 2) is shifted as described previously.

After one complete revolution of the pulse wheel (19 in Fig. l), the start-stop motor of the pulse transmitting device is again arrested by the simultaneous excitation of its two stator coils MI and M2 (Fig. 5) through th two then closed contacts m7c2 and 223. Due to the short-circuit through contact m'lcl, relay S can no longer hold its armature and becomes deenergized after the elapse of a time delay period. The drop-out delay of relay S is suflicient for the motor to com to standstill. The opening of the short-circuit of magnet V at contact 32 causes a new shifting of the coin switch member. The differential relay X also returns to its rest position due to the open ing of contact sl.

The pulse transmitting apparatus is now ready for the insertion of another coin. After insertion of the full amount to be paid, the user may start dialing the number of the subscriber with whom a connection is desired. This occurs in the conventional manner, the dial switch causing the pulse contact i to open and close repeatedly while the ofi-zero contact is remains closed during the dialing. operation. After termination of the connection, i. e. when the receiver is placed back on its holder or hook, all hook switch contacts are reset to the illustrated positions and the locking magnet V (23 in Fig. 1, and 2) becomes demagnetized.

For actuating the cashing magnet KM, a positive direct voltage with a grounded minus pole is place on wire a in the exchange for a short interval of time. This establishes the circuit: positive D.-C. voltage, wire a, valve G4, magnet KM, rectifier G5, contact v2,-ground. If no connection has been established with the called subscriber, the inserted coins are returned by placing a positive direct current voltage with a grounded minus pole on the wire b ofthe connecting line. This energizes the return magnet RM causing the coins to drop into a return chute. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art upon a study of this disclosure, that my invention permits of various modifications especially as regards design details of the puls transmitting apparatus. For instance, instead of providing a polarity of individual control cams 9a through 9d, a single disk or cam structure with several machined cam curves may be provided. It may also be advantageous to design the coin feeler struc ture as a linearly displaceable slider instead of a lever, the extension of displacement being controlled by the size of the inserted coins substantially in the same manner as described above.

I claim:

1. Coin-controlled purse transmitting apparatus, comprising a single coin chute for the coins of all denominations to be inserted, a coin feeler structure projecting into said coin chute and being engageable with the periphery of the respective inserted coins, said feeler structure being displaceable by the coins respective diifercnt amounts depending upon the coin size, a pulse issuing device having drive means responsive to coin insertion and having pulse contact means connected with said drive means to operate a given number of times for each individual operation of said drive means, said device having pulse control means for controlling said contact means to issue during each said operation respectively different numbers of pulses dependent upon the denominations of the respective inserted coins, said control means comprising a plurality of different control cams connected with said drive means to be driven thereby, and said feeler structure being selectively engageable with said control cams depending upon the amount of displacement of said feeler structure.

2. Coin-controlled pulse transmitting apparatus, comprising a single coin chute for the coins of all denominations to be inserted, a coin feeler structure projecting into said coin chute and being engageable with the periphery of the respective inserted coins, said feeler structure being displaceable by the coins respective different amounts depending upon the coin size, a pulse issuing device having pulse contact means and a pulse wheel and drive means responsive to coininsertion, said drive means being connected with said wheel for revolving it once for each operation and said wheel being engageable with said contact means for actuating it a given number of times during said operation, said device having pulse control means for controlling said contact means to issue during each said operation respectively different numbers of pulses dependent upon the denominations of the respective inserted coins, said centrol .mea nss comprising a plurality of difierent control means c'oaxially joined with said. pulse wheel to revolve togethertherewith, and said feeler structure: having a path'cof coincontrolled 1 displacement; extending along said cams and being selectively engageable with said respective cams depending upon the amount of said displacement, whereby the selected camcontrols the number of issued pulses in accordance with. the denomination of the coin inserted: at a.- time.

3. In coin-controlled pulse transmitting apparatus according: to claim I, said feeler structure comprising a lever member having a pivot axis and being tiltable about said :axis in the direction of said coin-controlled displacement, said lever member being also movable by said respective cams in a direction parallel to said axis, and electric: switch means mechanically connected with said lever member and responsive tothe camrcontrolled' movement, said switch meansbeing electrically connected with said pulse contact means to render it ineffective during a portion of said operation dependent upon the cam selectively engaged by said lever member.

OTTO MOSER.

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